PATTAYA (Day 25 - part 1)

We rented a songtheaw for half a day and set out for Nong Nooch Garden.

Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden covers 500 acres. The land was purchased in 1954 with the intention of turning it into a fruit plantation. But the owners then decided to plant tropical plants as a wildlife conservation project instead. In 1980, the garden was opened to the public in 1980.

Along with plants, there were also numerous animals in several shows.

In the aviary, the large birds wandered about very freely and came very close!

This cockatoo is fake ..... This rhinoceros hornbill is real!

It kept pressing these girls for food.

A green peafowl was very sparkly!

It was then time for the cultural show. This was extremely impressive!! There were many different sets, costumes, dances, comedy shows, music, etc.

Backstage, an elephant gets ready.

The demonstration of Muay Thai (Thai boxing) was scripted but extremely cute. One of the boxers accidentally knocked out a surrounding spectators and even punched the referee.

Stick fighting

Then came a giant battle scene with a huge background fort. Sparks showered from the clashing swords; cannons were brought out and fired at the fort... then armor clad elephants came out and locked trunks. It actually felt very real and very scary!

We walked next door to the outdoor elephant show.

Marching into the arena holding tails

Pushing the audience for bananas

Throwing darts...

... and doing an excellent job!

For painting, each elephant seemed to have its own technique. One did large strokes; another splattered by simply hitting the canvas with the brush; and the third just dabbed.

Picking up some volunteers

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